FOCUSfactor is one of the best selling and most popular supplements in the US. Sold
and marketed by Vital Basics, Inc., FOCUSfactor is a supplement that supposedly
boosts a person’s memory, concentration, and focus through a combination of
vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, Omega-3 fatty acids, and botanical
extracts. Looking at the list of ingredients, the main composition of
FOCUS factor are vitamins and minerals that are found in an ordinary multi-vitamin
such as Vitamins A, C, D, E, and Niacin. Other ingredients that are
supposed to enhance memory and concentration include Diemethylaminoethanol
(DMAE), Bacopin (Bacopamonnieri extract; leaf), Docosahexaenoic
acid (fish body oil), huperzine A, and other
purported supplements. The main method of action of FOCUSfactor is that
the brain needs certain chemicals to function and people don’t eat enough
natural foods that contain these chemicals such as fish or tofu to keep their
brain working at the optimal levels. Intake of FOCUSfactor will provide
more chemicals for the brain to use to operate at higher levels of increased
concentration and better memory retention.

The
advertiser’s claims

Vital Basics claim that FOCUSfactor is a brain support
supplement that can also double as a premium-quality multivitamin (https://www.vitalbasics.com//FocusFactor/focusfactor.aspx).
Although there are no direct substantial claims made by the advertisers about
the effects of FOCUSfactor on a person’s mental state, the marketing of the
website indicates that the ingredients in FOCUSfactor that help improve memory,
focus, and concentration by “supporting healthy brain function”. The main
reason for the lack of direct claims is that Vital Basics was taken to court by
the Federal Trade Commission for making unsubstantiated claims for FOCUSfactor
and V-Factor, another VBI product marketed to increase sexual performance in
men. The charges were settled and VBI agreed to pay $1 million in redress
to customers due to not having adequate substantiation to
back up claims on several commercial ads. (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/03/vitalbasics.htm)

Because of the FTC settlement, VBI is not able to make unsubstantiated
claims, but the FOCUSfactor website states that their “supplement contains
certain ingredients that were demonstrated in independent studies to support
healthy brain function, and it is formulated to be safe and effective” (https://www.vitalbasics.com//FocusFactor/focusfactor.aspx).
Although VBI claims that FOCUSfactor works and studies have demonstrated that
it supports healthy brain function, they do not show who performed the studies,
how the studies were performed, and the data and results from the
studies. There was no mention of the goals of the studies or any other
reference to what the studies were. Clearly, VBI is still presenting
unsubstantiated data to the public about the effectiveness of FOCUSfactor.

Scientific evidence based on the
ingredients of FOCUSfactor

Although there are no scientific studies on the effect of FOCUSfactor as a
whole, there have been studies on several of the key ingredients. Many of
the ingredients are herbal remedies that are commonly used in eastern medicine
such as Bacopamonnieri
extract and Huperziaserrata
extract. A study on the chronic effects of Brahmi (Bacopamonnieri) on human memory has
shown that there is no significant effect between control and experimental
groups (Roodenrys 2002). The same study also
gave the participants 3 months’ worth of Bacopamonnieri before administering memory tests and still there
was no significant difference between groups. One FOCUSfactor website
claims that FOCUSfactor works the very first time that you take it, but results
are usually seen in 30 days (http://freefocusfactor.com/FAQ.aspx).
The site does have a disclaimer stating that this statement is not endorsed by
the Food and Drug Administration, but if scientific evidence states that Bacopamonnieri has no effect on
memory after three months, the claim that noticeable changes are present after
30 days is very skeptical.

Other active herbal ingredients have also been studied by researchers and none
have come up with definitive results on the effects of such ingredients on
memory and concentration. Diemethylaminoethanol
(DMAE) was studied by a German research group and was found to promote well
being in subjects who are suffering from borderline emotional disturbance (Dimpfel, 2003). The same group did not study memory,
but they did find an association between well being and vigilance (similar to
focus). “Subjects taking the active drug for 3 months developed
significant less theta and alpha1 power in sensomotoric
areas of the cortex … and since decreases in theta and alpha1 electrical power
have been associated with increased vigilance and attention, subjects taking
the drug combination obviously were more active and felt better” (Dimpfel, 2003). There are no other studies that have
supported this claim and Diemethylaminoethanol is
still unconfirmed as a therapeutic treatment.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), known commonly as Omega-3
fatty acid, is another ingredient in FOCUSfactor that has been linked to
therapeutic treatments in depression and moods. Hirayama (2004) studied
the effect of DHA on children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(AD/HD). These children were asked to take food with natural DHA in them
such as fish and tofu but results show that DHA did not improve the symptoms of
AD/HD but further investigation is needed to confirm the effects of DHA on
humans.

The trustworthiness of
FOCUSfactor

There are many web companies that still promote FOCUSfactor despite VBI
settling in court. (http://www.mothernature.com/shop/detail.cfm/sku/42600)
(http://wonderfulbuys.com/ffctr.asp#)
But even these websites do not dare to promote FOCUSfactor as a drug backed up
by scientific evidence. Both of these sites have taken their marketing
directly from the VBI website and claim that FOCUSfactor is brain food that
helps your brain work better. From doing literary research, the active
ingredients in FOCUSfactor have not shown a significant increase in memory,
focus, and concentration. Many people have fallen prey to FOCUSfactor
that many websites such as (http://preventdisease.com/home/weeklywellness44.shtml)
and (http://www.berkeleywellness.com/html/ds/dsFocusFactor.php)
have already warned people about not paying such ridiculous prices for
supplements when similar multivitamins are much cheaper. Although some
ingredients might have shown some therapeutic effects in rats, there is no
scientific evidence that FOCUSfactor improves memory and concentration.
The best way to give your brain a boost is to be skeptical about believing
everything you read and hear about, do literary research, and arm yourself with
knowledge against fraudulent products such as FOCUSfactor.

References

Dimpfel, W. (2003) Efficacy of dimethylaminoethanol
(DMAE) containing vitamin-mineral drug combination on EEG patterns in the
presence of different emotional states. European
Journal of Medical Research 5, 183-91.